


In The Closet Talks

by protectmikasamuels2017



Category: Derry Girls (TV)
Genre: And I wish that we could have seen a friendhsip between him and James, Bonding, Friendship, I wish we had more of David in the show, M/M, oh well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:47:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25164889
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/protectmikasamuels2017/pseuds/protectmikasamuels2017
Summary: James wasn’t quite sure how he got into this situation.And well, ok, to be fair, that statement could actually apply to a fair number of situations that he’s found himself in since his arrival in Derry. Here in Derry trouble seemed to be a constant state of presence for him and the rest of the gang.But that still doesn't explain just how he ended up locked in a closet with David Donnelly of all people.
Relationships: David Donnelly & James Maguire, David Donnelly/James Maguire, Orla McCool & James Maguire
Comments: 4
Kudos: 141





	In The Closet Talks

**Author's Note:**

> Personally I do wish that David had been in the show longer. I thought he was interesting and I was kinda shipping David/Orla (those two could have worked really well together). I also would have liked to see scenes of him and James together, for friendship if nothing else. Sadly though, it wasn't meant to be, but the inspiration fairies inspired me to write this.
> 
> In terms of timeline, this fic occurs at some point after the concert episode in season two. I've left it a bit ambiguous and up to you to decide whether it happens after the prom and President's visit or before. The only other thing that you should know is that a few months before this fic happens James was attacked by some boys from the lads school. That's the only change that I have made to the timeline (and there's no proof that something like that didn't happen anyway).
> 
> And if you like it, please leave a comment, I really do love comments. Thank you and enjoy!

James wasn’t quite sure how he got into this situation.

And well, ok, to be fair, that statement could actually apply to a fair number of situations that he’s found himself in since his arrival in Derry. Here in Derry trouble seemed to be a constant state of presence for him and the rest of the gang. Jesus Christ after all, on his very first day of school he had gotten detention for bullying, had gotten caught pissing in a bin because there were no bathrooms for him to use and a nun had died while he was in the room. That probably should have been an omen to him for how his time in Derry was gonna go. If it was, well, he didn't listen.

Although he’s not sure how listening to it could have helped him avoid sitting in a locked closet with David Donnelly for company while the sound of a fight brewed outside the door.

He’s not exactly sure how it happened to be honest. They’re at Jenny Joyce’s house so they’re thankfully not crammed together like sardines like they would have been if it had been a closet at Erin’s or his aunty Deirdre’s. They at least have room to sit down and stretch their legs and actually breathe. Outside he can hear Michelle swearing up a storm and the sounds of what was quickly escalating into a pretty vicious fight between the guests. 

He’s not sure whether to be thankful he’s not caught in the middle of it or worried that he’s going to be spending the whole night at Jenny’s; because despite both his and David’s best efforts to catch someone’s attention on the other side of the door, they’ve gone unnoticed. And he’s not entirely sure that the girls are going to notice that he’s not with them if they have to leave fast.

Beside him David groaned in annoyance and frustration, before he slid down to sit beside him, their backs resting against the door, finally giving up on trying to attract someone's attention. They probably couldn’t hear him anyway over Michelle’s threats to rip some poor sod’s balls off.

“How long until you think they notice?” David asked after about a minute of silence, surprising James. He had honestly been expecting to pass their time in here in awkward silence. Because while he may have had tons of mates back in London, his time in Derry and attending an all-girls school had completely and utterly destroyed his abilities at connecting with boys his own age. The disaster of the ‘Friends Across the Barricade’ with the Protestant boys and the attack that the Christian boys secondary had done on him a few months back had all but cemented that fact in his mind.

“Don’t know” he shrugged, “did you come here with anyone?”

“No,” David frowned. “I mean my mates are here but I came by myself. They’ll probably just assume that I went home when they can’t find me. What about you, you’re never without your gang?”

“Yeah, well I think Michelle’s a bit preoccupied right now” he said sarcastically, gaining a snort from David in response. “Clare’s probably going to be panicking over Michelle and trying to stop her, so she probably won’t notice that I’m not there unless she does a headcount or something. Orla’s Orla so I don’t think that we can count for help in that corner either. So our main hope is probably Erin.”

“And they’re probably not going to notice that they’re one member short for a good while what with what’s happening out there” David grumbled, fidgeting with his fingers while James huffed in annoyance. 

“Probably” he agreed, leaning his head back until it was resting against the door while he tried to think. And if he was perfectly honest, then he wouldn’t be surprised if the girls left without even realising that he wasn’t there with them. It had already happened once before during the Take That concert and he wouldn’t be too surprised either if they’d just assumed that he’d wander back eventually when they did finally notice that he wasn’t with them. Michelle had nearly convinced the others after all to leave him behind in the middle of nowhere with the Travellers who they had thought at the time had wanted to hurt him. If he hadn’t had the tickets with him then they would have done it too. That still kinda hurt if he was being honest.

Beside him David huffed out a breath of laughter and shook his head. When James turned to face him he had a small smile on his face.

“I don’t suppose that we can hope that Erin will be trying to find you to stop you from sleeping with a supposed prostitute this time huh?” David muttered while James tried unsuccessfully to muffle a groan at what had happened last time that he was at Jenny Joyce’s house for a party.

“She was only looking out for me” James said, feeling the need to defend Erin and what she had done during Katya’s visit.

“It was still embarrassing and I wasn’t even involved” David snorted. “Her defense sounded like ‘she likes James, so she has to be a prostitute’. I still don’t know who I was more embarrassed for during that; you, Katya or Erin.”

“Well I am English so that probably did add weight to Erin’s theory” James said, a small smile on his face as his mind drifted back to Erin’s defense. _‘But he’s English Katya.’_

“Are you blind?” David argued, “I mean you have eyes, right? Can’t you see that there’s a ton of girls who wouldn’t mind riding you - I saw at least seven girls eyeing you up before we got trapped in here.”

“Yeah right” James snorted. He may be a bit naive in some aspects, particularly when it came to life in Derry and while the feeling that he had stepped through the looking glass was still there at times, he still knew when his leg was being pulled. “Catch yourself on.”

“I’m serious” David insisted. “I mean you’re the only boy in an all-girls school. That’s bound to catch some girls eye. And if Eoin McConnor and Arwan O’Brien can convince girls to ride them, than so can you.”

“I think the English thing is a bigger deterrent than you think it is. That and having Michelle for a cousin.” James replied. Michelle had always been very clear that because he was English he could kiss any chance of any girl liking him goodbye. And whatever girls who may have actually shown a tentative interest in dating him she had always scared away by loudly proclaiming that he was gay. Which he wasn’t. He liked both boys and girls equally. Not that he planned on sharing any of that with the girls.

“And whatever girls who could get past that would then have to face Erin calling them prostitutes” David snorted and then gave a sound of pain as James elbowed him in the ribs. Erin had made a mistake and she had regretted it. Well, he thought that she did at least. “It’s just a joke,” David defended.

“Not funny” he said, the need to defend Erin rising high in him. David for his part, just raised his hands in a gesture of surrender before rearranging himself on the floor in an effort to get more comfortable. Somehow managing to be pressed up against him as a result, the sides of their bodies; from their shoulders all the way to their knees pressed close together. He desperately tried to shove down the warm feeling that started to grow in his stomach as a result. This was the first time in well over a year that he was actually having an actual conversation with another boy who wanted to talk to him; he really didn’t want to mess it up. That and the fact that they were still locked in the bloody closest. It wasn’t like David could just walk away from him if he did end up embarrassing himself.

“Shame you didn’t go to the Christian Brothers though” David said, “we could have been great friends there.”

“Before or after my murder by the rest of my classmates?” James asked while his wrist throbbed with pain at the mere memory of being jumped by a gang wearing the boys school uniform a few months back. 

It had happened on the rare occasion that he had been by himself and the resulting beat-down had had him spend a whole night in the hospital and missing a whole week of school to recover from. His injuries from it had come down to two cracked ribs, a broken wrist and a severe concussion. And it had cemented to him finally about what everyone had said about him being murdered if he attended the boys school. After all, knowing that people actively want you harmed for being English and the aftermath of it happening are two very different things. At least at his own school the most dangerous thing that could happen to him was losing his hearing from Jenny Joyce’s horrific singing.

“Yeah, I suppose you wouldn’t have lasted long there if you did attend” David frowned. “Some of the boys are vicious. I’d be surprised really if you lasted a whole day without getting attacked.”

“If I’m being honest, so would I” James confessed, gaining a snort out of David and a fluttering feeling in his stomach as a result that he tried to force the feeling to go away out of pure force of will. He could be making his first friend of the male gender for the first time ever since he arrived in Derry. He was not going to allow himself to mess this up.

“You know, I think it’s calming down out there,” David said after a minute or two and James realised that he was right. There were still sounds of a party going on but the sounds of a fight going on were gone. And just as James was realising that, the door above them rattled as someone tried to get in.

Immediately he and David were up on their feet and banging on the door trying to get the person on the other side’s attention.

“Ah, sorry bout that’ I didn’t know that someone else was already using ye’ I’ll just be on my way then” Orla’s voice sounded through the other side of the door and it was music to his ears.

“Orla, no, don’t go Orla, it’s James” he said desperately hoping against hope that Orla didn’t just wander off. Because as much as he liked hanging out with David, he had no desire to spend the whole night trapped in Jenny Joyce’s closet. What if she started singing again once everyone else had left? Nightmare.

“Oh, hiya James we were wondering where you had run off to. Cracker party isn’t it?” Orla’s cheery voice called out and he almost felt his legs give in.

“Orla listen, we need your help. David and I are locked in here ok? We need you to find the key for the door and let us out.”

“Ah sure James I can do that” was Orla’s reply and James nearly wanted to cry in relief. “I’ll just go start me search then.”

“Hopefully it shouldn’t be too long then” David said in relief.

“Provided that she doesn’t get distracted or the girls have to make a quick escape after pissing Jenny or anyone else off” James laughed. Both things had happened to them on more than one occasion. And knowing his luck they’ll happen again.

“We better start praying then” Daire smiled and James couldn't help the snort of laughter that burst out of him. And just when he thought that he had finally gotten it back under control he made the mistake of looking at David and that set him off again, only this time David was struggling to keep his composure as well.

“You know, you should come to one of my gigs sometime” David said once they both had calmed down enough to have a conversation again. “I’d like to see you there.”

“Sure” James agreed readily. His mind then couldn’t help but flash back to his first day of school back in Derry as soon as he said it. His mum had left him, he had gotten detention for bullying, a nun had died and he had gotten caught pissing in a bin. But what stood out in his mind now was Erin’s excitement and determination to go to David’s gig that he had invited her to apparently. “Erin would love to go, she plays your CD non-stop. At this point we all know the lyrics to your songs.”

“Really?” David smiled. He had a really nice smile actually, James thought before he furiously fought down the rising urge to blush.

“Yeah” he admitted, because he was a moron and wanted to make a complete idiot of himself. “Ask me any song and I can give you the lyrics for it.”

“And what do you think of my music?”

“I like it” James shrugged, “it’s different, but interesting at the same time. It makes you want to stop what you're doing and just listen.”

Oh God, if David didn’t stop smiling at him like that then he was going to make a complete twat of himself, he was - 

And then David was kissing him. David Donnelly was kissing him on the mouth. David Donnelly had kissed him and not the other way around.

David Donnelly was a surprising good kisser actually. And he was kissing him back.

The sound of a key turning in the lock then made them jump apart.

“Don’t tell,” David said in a panic just before the door swung open and Orla was standing on the other side clueless to what had just happened.

“Hiya David, cracker closet this is in’t it?” Orla said, leaning forward without moving her feet, to look inside the closet that him and David had just spent who knew how long in.

“Thanks Orla,” he said as David pushed past them both and disappeared into the party without saying a word. So much for making a friend. Maybe he’s worried that he would tell someone about their kiss?

He wouldn’t though. He knows how to keep a secret after all. He had plenty of his own and he has kept some for the girls too, though not a lot. They tell each other nearly everything after all.

But not this, for whatever reason David doesn’t want people knowing. Whether it was because he kissed a boy or just the English thing he didn’t know. But he’ll stay quiet.

“Say Orla” he said instead, stepping out of the damn closet to stand beside his rescuer, “how about we go try out the chocolate fountain?”

“Cracker plan James” Orla smiled, before she turned and led the way to what he presumed was the chocolate fountain she was not so secretly obsessed with and he tried his best to put the thoughts of David Donnelyl and that kiss out of his mind entirely.

But come to think of it, David did taste a bit like chocolate during their kiss.

Oh God, he was screwed.


End file.
